We really enjoy the Las Cruces trials. One of the many reasons we enjoy them is that they are definitely the most casual and laid back trials we've ever attended. There is no stress at all - none!
In prior years, we've always attended the March trials and enjoyed our time here. This is our first time here in November and we like this even better. The weather is a little warmer and there is virtually no wind - unlike in March when they have to cancel runs due to the strong wind. From what they tell me, it is about five degrees warmer than it usually is this time of year. You won't hear me complaining. The only thing is that since it's so warm they haven't had their first frost/freeze of the year. This causes a couple problems. The first problem doesn't affect us directly. This area has the largest pecan growing crops in the U.S. The shells don't open until the first freeze so the harvesting is getting a very late start this year - they are still waiting. Second, and most concerning to us, is that the flies haven't been killed off. Since the trial is held at a horse site, the flies were abundant. Actually the flies were downright obnoxious.
We worked out of car. Next to the car we had a couple x-pens set up and a crate next to that. We started out in the car and since it was so warm we had to have the windows down with shade tarps around the car. There were never less than 50 flies in the car at one time. Our dogs freak around flies (long story). We didn't have the windows down super far as we didn't want Boogie jumping out - not that he would, but just in case. One time we were out walking the course and suddenly Sparkie comes walking into the agility area. She wasn't near the course but we had expected she'd be in the car. She was slinking toward us as she knew she wasn't supposed to have jumped out of the car. We didn't trouble her as we knew she was spooked by the flies. We tried leaving the dogs in the x-pen but the flies were just as thick there. The only "safe" place was in the crate. But we didn't realize the flies were going to be such a problem so we only had one large crate and then Boogie's little crate. Interestingly enough, the flies didn't go around Boogie at all - just around the big dogs. There didn't seem to be nearly that many flies on the agility field. My guess is because there wasn't horse poo on the agility field but there was lots of it in the parking area - that's because the parking area is in the field where the horse is normally kept.
From this picture you can see how large the field area is. This is a full size Tunnelers course and it looks so miniature on this huge field.
Okay, on to the actual agility! Saturday started with two Elite Regular runs. I loved these courses. They were actually way different than courses we usually see. Very fun! That's not to say they were easy by any means. There were some real traps and some interesting challenges - doable but challenging. Just plain fun to run and fun to watch.
Wazzu did both courses extremely well (although parts of them she did a bit on the slow side)....except when it came to the weaves. She would not weave. The first run she was moving right along until it came to the weaves. She walked so slowly - but that's okay with me. She got to pole 10 and stopped to sniff the ground and just followed her nose out of the poles- she has never done that her entire life. (I later found out the horses had been out on this field for a few days recently - but even so that shouldn't bother her at all.) I had decided that I wasn't going to let her get away with not completing the weaves as I think she is now doing that on purpose. So I took her back and tried again...three times! When weaving forward she'd go so slowly. But one time as I was calling her back to start over she started backweaving and went really fast. HUH?! Go figure that one. Needless to say, we were about a day and half over time! Second round.....same thing. I told Mike that if Wazzu did this the next trial then I was going to retire Wazzu from Regular.
Sparkie's first run was perfect...and fast. A lot of dogs had trouble with this course but Sparkie made it look really easy. That's Sparkie for you. The second round was tough too and Mike didn't quite give her enough direction at one point and she took an off course. This worried her a little and she went into her scared whippet stance but Mike got her going again very nicely. He's done a great job with that the last couple weeks.
Now it was little Slugger's turn to try the Novice Regular course. He wasn't speedy like he can be since he was hot (he'd been sun bathing - his favorite activity) but he did run and completed the course very nicely. The distance portion was a little bit too far for him so Mike had to cross the line but he did nicely and got a five point Q.
Next was a very interesting Elite Jumpers course. I was anxious to run the course as it looked like a lot of fun. I was on my way to get Wazzu when for some odd reason (that I still can't figure out) it suddenly popped into my brain that there was no reason to make Wazzu run the longer more difficult Elite courses any more. For quite some time I had toyed with moving her to Skilled so she could jump lower (even though she is showing no signs having trouble jumping) but I didn't want to do that as then she couldn't work toward any more NATCH's. And moving her to Skilled wouldn't help with the weave issue - she'd just have to retire from Regular. It totally dawned on me that I could move her to Novice in all classes but yet still keep her in Elite Chances - the only thing she needs for any remaining NATCH's she could possibly earn. But this way she could still play - and most likely have a lot more fun. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier. I'm still trying to search my brain to make sure this won't cause any problems for us - but I don't think it will unless I'm overlooking some rule that I've forgotten.
So I went over to the scorekeeper to see if it would be possible to move Wazzu to Novice starting tomorrow. She was extremely nice and said there was no reason to wait until tomorrow and changed Wazzu right then and there to be in Novice starting with the Jumpers run.
Sparkie started off the Jumpers run very nicely. But at one point she started to go to an off course jump. Mike was able to stop her in time but this worried her (most people don't realize how soft Sparkie really is since she puts up such a big attitude with all her barking) and she got just a tad bit whippety. But Mike got her going once again and she finished nicely and ended up getting first place.
One thing that has been getting increasingly hard for me is to remember the courses. I have to walk them over and over just to try to remember them - and once in a while I get lost. I quickly noticed on the Novice Jumpers course that I could remember it quite easily - in fact, I only had to walk it once. I did this change to Novice to help Wazzu - but it turns out it is a big help to me too! This type of course is much easier on Wazzu's body as it has more flowing turns (easier on her back) and is shorter. Everyone said Wazzu looked so much happier - and that's exactly what I was wanting. I just want Wazzu to be happy.
The Chances course looked very doable - or so I thought. I knew it would be challenging but I really thought we could do this. Well, most of the dogs didn't seem to agree with me! This was much harder than it looked. For one test there was a large arc of jumps way out around a slightly arced tunnel. The dogs seemed to find this very difficult as the Q rate was much lower than I had expected. As you might guess, Wazzu was one of the dogs that found this just a bit too challenging. Sparkie on the other hand did it nicely, but even she took a look at the off course tunnel before understanding what was really being asked of her. Nice run, Sparkie!
That just left two Touch N Go runs. The Mason family went 100% there going 5/5. Way to go little Slugger!! We did pretty good on paper today. Wazzu went 3/6, Sparkie ended up 5/6 and little Slugger won the prize going 2/2.
We got done nice and early on Saturday finishing somewhere around 2:00. Last year, if you were following our blog/website you saw pictures of the pecan trees with no leaves and the ground flooded with water (on purpose). Really pretty pictures if I say so myself. Well, this time of year the trees are in full foliage and loaded with pecans. The trees form this beautiful arch over the road for a stretch of a couple miles. It is quite a beautiful sight.
We of course had to stop at Stahmann's. This is the store of the largest pecan producers in the world! They sell many different pecan items as well as various flavored pecans, candies, pies, cookies, etc. In addition they sell some really good ice cream. Since it was warm today, we decided to get some ice cream. This was Boogie's first time to have ice cream. His little eyes got so big as he took his first bite. He decided ice cream was really good stuff. It's hard to tell what Boogie's favorite food is as he likes everything! But I've never seen his eyes get so big when he first tasted something like he did with the ice cream.
The pecan farm here is really amazing. The average age of a bearing tree is fifty years old - talk about having to plan ahead! The orchard has approximately 180,000 trees and they produce eight to ten million pounds of pecans a year. It's amazing to me that there is a need for that many pecans each year.
Sunday morning we were off to the trial once again. It was even hotter today than yesterday which seemed to bring out the flies even more. It was pretty much impossible to work out of the car as the dogs were covered in flies. This just seemed inhumane to me so we took three of the dogs and laid on the grass in the agility area. We left the other dog safely in the crate. Before we did that, Sparkie was so afraid of the flies that she crammed herself into Boogie's little crate. Problem was she then couldn't get out. Boogie just barely fits in the crate so can imagine all of Sparkie crammed in there. Had it not been so pathetic it would have been really funny.
Today we started with Jumpers and both dogs had very nice runs. On the first Regular run Sparkie ran the perfect run. There were no bobbles of any kind and she was running fast and confidently. It was the picture perfect run to earn her NATCH-10! Mike is so very proud of her as not many mixed breeds accomplish this. Sparkie is a great partner for Mike. Pretty good since they very rarely have gotten to practice for a few years now.
The rest of the day went very well for our gang. Wazzu ended up 5/5. She seemed to really enjoy the Novice courses and even rose to the occasion and got a Chances Q! Sparkie had another 5/6 day, and Slugger was 1/2. Weavers was at the end of the day and he was well into his nap time. He did the course correctly but was well over time.
To celebrate Sparkie's NATCH-10, Mike got some steaks and cooked them outside on the barbecue, while I prepared a Caesar salad and baked potatoes. Meg and Harriet (Boogie's breeders) ate with us and helped us celebrate the momentous occasion. Meg even bought some sparkling cider (it was super good!) for a nice toast with desert. Sparkie even got to come into the house for the toast. She enjoyed that and as usual was very well behaved. Of course, all the dogs got some steak scraps - that was a big hit for sure! It was really nice to have friends to help us celebrate. It just seems a bit more special when you can share your good times with others.
So pick up your glasses and toast with us! Here's to NATCH-10 Sparkie!
Debbie
11/3-4/07
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